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In Brief

THE PLANS OF ACTION AND BUDGET UNDER
THIS APPEAL ARE BEING ADJUSTED AS DETAILED NEEDS ASSESSMENTS ARE COMPLETED
IN THE WAKE OF HURRICANES DENNIS AND EMILY IN THE CARIBBEAN; THE ADJUSTRED
BUDGET WILL BE ATTACHED TO THE NEXT OPERATIONS UPDATE.

In accordance with the Federation's flexible
strategy and approach to this operation, donors are encouraged to provide
support, with minimum earmarking. To date no contributions have been received
in response to this Appeal and donations are urgently sought.

Operational Summary: Cuba, Grenada,
Haiti and Jamaica were particularly affected by the passage of Hurricanes
Dennis and Emily. This Appeal covers needs in Grenada, Haiti and Jamaica;
confirmation was received today from the Cuban Red Cross that the National
Society is not requesting international assistance. The Pan American Disaster
Response Unit (PADRU) responded immediately to the threat of the Hurricanes,
providing support for the National Societies through the deployment of
a disaster management delegate to Haiti who then moved to assist the Grenada
Red Cross Society (GRCS). A total of three air lifts and one ocean shipment
of re lief goods including hygiene kits, kitchen sets, plastic buckets,
plastic sheeting, jerry cans, first aid kits, equipment for volunteers,
blankets and sleeping mats reached Grenada on 10 and 16 July and Jamaica
on 18 July. In Grenada, GRCS volunteers have distributed 900 family hygiene
kits, 1,800 pieces of plastic sheeting in communities together with 1,500
litres of water to people living in shelters. The Jamaica Red Cross (JRC)
has also begun relief distributions of goods received from PADRU and relief
supplies in stock. The Haitian National Red Cross Society is working to
organize distribution of relief goods, particularly hygiene kits, kitchen
sets and blankets to 2,000 vulnerable families severely affected by Hurricanes
Dennis and Emily in the South and West of the Country, as well as in the
area of Saint Marc, some 50 miles north of Port-au-Prince.

There is concern that, so early in the
Hurricane Season, two forceful Hurricanes have already formed causing significant
damage and suffering whilst vulnerable communities in Grenada, Haiti and
Jamaica are still struggling to recover from Hurricane Ivan and Hurricane
Jeanne which hit in 2004.

No contributions have been received to
date for this Appeal and donors are urged to provide funding urgently in
orde r to ensure that the Red Cross meets the needs of those most severely
affected by Hurricanes Dennis and Emily.

Background

Although it is still early in the Atlantic
hurricane season, which runs from 1 June to 30 November, the Caribbean
Region has already been affected by two major hurricanes. The first hurricane
of the season was Dennis, which caused at least 30 deaths in the Caribbean
before weakening to a tropical storm over the southern United States.

The storm's rain battered the southern
coast of Haiti, causing rivers to overflow and roads to be flooded. Coastal
villages were evacuated and approximately 654 people sought refuge in temporary
shelters, particularly in the regions of Les Cayes, Port-Salut, and Grand
Anse. According to data from the Civil Protection, at least 20 people died
as a result of the storm. The hospital in Les Cayes was flooded but continued
to treat patients throughout and after the passage of the storm. One of
the main bridges in Grand Goâves, in the southern part of the country,
collapsed, completely blocking access. An assessment undertaken by the
Civil Protection with the participation of the Red Cross branches in the
affected areas has indicated that 1,500 families became homeless as a result
of the flooding in Grand Anse, of whom 675 are in urgent need of assistance.
The Haitian government allocated five million gourdes (USD 123,653) towards
the relief effort.

Hurricane Dennis struck Jamaica on Thursday,
7 July, as it strengthened to a category three hurricane. Although wind
damage was not intense, the system brought substantial flooding causing
severe mudslides. Residents of low lying areas as well as coastal towns
-- where a large part of the population lives -- were advised to seek higher
ground. The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM)
confirmed that approximately 8,000 persons were affected in Jamaica. Persons
were moved to shelters, mostly in the north eastern area of the country.
The parishes of St. Thomas, St. Mary and Portland appear to be the areas
that have sustained the greatest impact, though effects of Dennis were
felt in other parishes across the island.

Hurricane Dennis, at that time a category
four hurricane, pounded Cuba for ten hours on Friday, 8 July, before heading
back into the Gulf of Mexico and moving towards the United States. Hurricane
Dennis left ten people dead across the country and destroyed thousands
of houses in the provinces of Habana, Camaguey, Ciego de Ávila, Las Tunas,
Santiago de Cuba, Matanzas, Sancti Espíritus and Guatanamo. In total, more
than 1,400,000 people were evacuated, including tourists, 196,000 of which
were moved to emergency shelters. Once the hurricane had passed over Cuba,
national authorities, together with the Civil Defence and the Cuban Red
Cross began conducting damage and needs assessments. While evaluation teams
are still collecting data from throughout the country, the Cuban Civil
Defence Agency is currently estimating that some eight million people were
affected by the hurricane and some 40,000 homes were damaged or destroyed.
The Cuban Red Cross has officially confirmed that the National Society
does not require international assistance from the Federation to meet the
needs of those affected by Hurricane Dennis.

Hurricane Emily, the second major hurricane
of the season, first began to form on 12 July in the eastern Caribbean
Sea and moved towards the Windward Islands. Of the Windward Islands, Grenada
was the most seriously affected by Hurricane Emily , which passed over
the island early Thursday morning, 14 July, causing significant damage
to buildings and crops. One death was reported in Grenada, as a result
of the storm. The parishes of St. Patrick and St. Andrew were most affected,
as well as the dependencies of Carriacou and Petit Martinique. The situation
in Carriacou is still challenging and it will take 2 to 3 weeks before
the situation returns to normal. As of Saturday, 16 July, the National
Disaster Management Agency (NaDMA) was reporting that of the 4,281 people
that occupied shelters during the passage of the storm, 672 remained temporarily
housed in shelters. Some of the shelter occupants have been destitute since
Hurricane Ivan in 2004. With such a large number of persons requiring ongoing
temporary shelter, there is a growing necessity to meet their food needs.
NaDMA also reports that 2,641 roofs have been damaged, of which the majority
are in the parishes of St. Andrew and St. Patrick, and 167 families are
homeless. There is a need for plastic sheeting, not only for the roofs
damaged by Emily, but also for the many families affected by Ivan. Some
families that suffered roof damage or loss by Ivan were still using plastic
sheeting when Emily hit, and therefore have lost this protection. Thirty
Red Cross volunteers and staff members were dispatched to assess the most
vulnerable parishes. The Grenada Red Cross Society's focus will be on distributing
materials and on providing psychosocial support, for which experts are
already available as a result of training received in response to Hurricane
Ivan. A Federation disaster management delegate arrived in Grenada on Saturday,
16 July, to support assessment and response activities.

In the other Windward Island countries
affected by Hurricane Emily, there appear to be at this time only minimal
needs that are being addressed by their respective governments and Red
Cross Societies. In St. Vincent and the Grenadines, initial damage and
needs assessment indicated that 11 houses lost their roofs: seven on the
main island of St. Vincent, one in Cannau and three in Union. In total,
530 people were evacuated to 31 shelters in the country. A Federation disaster
management delegate was pre-deployed to Saint Vincent on Wednesday, 13
July, to support assessment and response activities. In Trinidad and Tobago,
a rapid nationwide assessment was conducted on 14 July. There were no casualties
as a result of Hurricane Emily. In Tobago, two houses were destroyed and
thirty suffered roof loss. In Trinidad, six houses suffered partial roof
loss, and some 200 to 300 houses suffered flood damage. Several roads were
affected by localized flooding, but the water has now subsided. Several
landslides were reported in Trinidad and North Tobago.

No needs are reported by the Netherlands
Antilles of Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire.

Although Hurricane Emily had strengthened
to category four status as it approached Jamaica, the storm passed far
enough from the island to only cause tropical storm conditions. It has
been reported that this hurricane had a lesser impact on the country than
its predecessor, Dennis. It has been confirmed that the passage of Hurricane
Emily caused flooding in 65 communities in 8 parishes across the island,
with the main areas of impact being Manchester and St. Elizabeth. The aerial
reconnaissance conducted by the Rapid Damage Assessment Team confirmed
the areas with the most damage. Approximately 3,594 persons occupied 108
shelters at the height of the storm, however, the majority of these shelters
are now closed.

Throughout the storm and in its aftermath,
the Jamaica Red Cross remained in communication with the Office of Disaster
Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), while the Red Cross branches
maintained the parish-level communication with the Parish Disaster Committees.

The Cayman Islands experienced tropical
storm conditions as a result of Hurricane Emily , which passed to the south
of the islands throughout the night of 16-17 July. Telephone and electricity
services were not affected and water was expected to have been restored
yesterday, 17 July. The Cayman Islands Red Cross (CIRC) briefed its volunteers
and distributed emergency supply kits prior to Emily's arrival. Approximately
700 people stayed in temporary shelters on Saturday night, 60 of whom were
in Red Cross shelters. Red Cross First Aid volunteers were assigned to
each shelter. Shelters began closing on Sunday, 17 July, as people return
to their homes. Following Emily's passage, the CRIC has begun to deploy
damage assessment teams; there has been no major damages reported so far.

Haiti experienced heavy rains with the
passage of Emily, resulting in extensive flooding in the coastal city of
Saint Marc and surrounding areas. A representative of the Haïtian National
Red Cross Society (HNRCS) and the Federation, together with the French
Red Cross, conducted a damage and needs assessment of the affected area
on Sunday, 17 July. The assessment s indicated that five people are dead
(four of whom are infants), one person is missing, and thirty children
are injured.

At 2:00am local time (7:00GMT) Monday,
18 July, Emily entered the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico. At that time a
category four storm, Emily packed winds of 135km/h (84mph). Emily has now
crossed through the Mexican states of Quintana Roo and Yucatan, into the
Gulf of Mexico. In anticipation of the storm, approximately 60,000 tourists
were evacuated from the tourist areas on the peninsula, such as Tulum,
Playa del Carmen and Cozumel; this included 30,000 people who entered temporary
shelters in Cancun. The Mexican Red Cross (MRC) began to preposition materials,
volunteers and support equipment in the state of Quintana Roo on Saturday,
16 July; including 38 tons of material, 6 transportation units, a communications
unit, and 20 members of the National Rapid Intervention Unit. Furthermore,
the MRC deployed its National Disaster Operations Coordinator to coordinate
preparedness and response activities. Thus far, initial needs as a result
of Emily are being addressed by the government and the MRC.

It is expected that Emily will cross
back into Mexico on the eastern coast late Tuesday night, 19 July. While
Emily decreased to category one status after hitting the Yucatan peninsula,
it is expected that winds will increase while crossing the Mexican gulf,
possibly attaining category three status before reaching land.

For further information specifically
related to this operation please contact:

All International Federation assistance
seeks to adhere to the Code of Conduct and is committed to the Humanitarian
Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response in delivering assistance
to the most vulnerable. For support to or for further information concerning
Federation programmes or operations in this or other countries, or for
a full description of the national society profile, please access the Federation's
website at http://www.ifrc.org